H.264 compatibility (and few other questions)

[tomuser]

Hi

Was looking around some newer (currently having Vu+ Zero) mid-range combo STB-s which could have both satellite and terrestrial tuners and stumbled upon Edision OS-mio+ Plus 4K. In "paper" it has many goodies under hood: 4K, HEVC, 1xS2X + 1xS2/T2/C, Enigma...
But one thing I noticed that it never tells anything about being able to decode H.264 anywhere. Is it not mentioned because this should be obvious anyway or because it really can't decode H.264? (It would be needed for both satellite and terrestrial signals)

Another question is about this S2/T2/C combo tuner: can it use only one of them at time or is possible to use any of them (like watching T2 and recording S2) ?

[BrokenUnusableAccount]

I can't find any more information but it would, in my opinion, be really really unusual if the processor had hardware decode for H265/HEVC but not for H264/AVC.

[ccs]

The S2/T2/C combo tuner is configured to be S2, T2 or C, not all at the same time. It has one source input.

[tomuser]

Thanks for your replies. Mean time (not related to this specific STB) I discovered some discussion that there are 4K H.265 and 4K H.264 channels and some devices are able to play H.265 but not H.264 channels depending on device and SoC used in it. There are some channels in 0.8W, 12705MHz, V, 45000, 3/4, 8PSK from which Heritage 4K has issues for some people. It uses H.264. Other channels there (NASA, WoW and Mooz) use HEVC and are OK for same people. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[twol]

Hi

Was looking around some newer (currently having Vu+ Zero) mid-range combo STB-s which could have both satellite and terrestrial tuners and stumbled upon Edision OS-mio+ Plus 4K. In "paper" it has many goodies under hood: 4K, HEVC, 1xS2X + 1xS2/T2/C, Enigma...
But one thing I noticed that it never tells anything about being able to decode H.264 anywhere. Is it not mentioned because this should be obvious anyway or because it really can't decode H.264? (It would be needed for both satellite and terrestrial signals)

Another question is about this S2/T2/C combo tuner: can it use only one of them at time or is possible to use any of them (like watching T2 and recording S2) ?

Well BBC uses mpeg-4 h-264 and that plays on all the HD receivers

[Trial]

Hi,
normally HD=h264 and UHD=h265. I think Nasa has HD as well as UHD channels. A lot of 4K boxes are also not able to play 4k/UHD in h264.

Ralf

[BrokenUnusableAccount]

A lot of 4K boxes are also not able to play 4k/UHD in h264.
Seems like an odd restriction.
Perhaps some H264 hardware is old designs not updated when 4K became a thing.
But you'd think if you're adding H265 you'd update your H264 too.
I guess it mostly doesn't matter in practice.

[ronand]

Its actually odd for a broadcaster to use H264 for a UHD channel seeing as H265 is more efficient. BBC HD was in MPEG 2 HD when it was first testing but the bandwidth required was huge - it needed a full transponder on its own. The PQ was great but they switched to MPEG4 after a while. There are quite a few codecs / combinations not implemented in chipsets despite being commonly used.

[Trial]

Hi,
UHD in h264 is mostly found as download not broadcast. My VU+ Solo4K and Ultimo4k (first 4K version) do not play 4K h264. My VU+ Duo 4K plays 4K h264. I think it is the same with other brands as they are mostly based on the same SOCs.

It sounds quite unimportant on the first look but my WiFi cams deliver 2560x1440 in h264 and only with the Duo 4K I am able to see the stream/recording.

Ralf

[tomuser]

It sounds quite unimportant on the first look but my WiFi cams deliver 2560x1440 in h264...


This ^

Many cams do record 4K in H.264 so it's another point to pay attention to if wanting to see recordings through STB. Can't be sure about anything without actually touching device itself :(

[Trial]

Hi,
I just learned a few days ago that the "new" VU+ Duo4KSE also does not play 4K in h264. It seems they are using an older SOC.

Ralf

[twol]

Hi,
I just learned a few days ago that the "new" VU+ Duo4KSE also does not play 4K in h264. It seems they are using an older SOC.

Ralf

Um! Doesn‘t surprise me, kind of reinforces my thinking about the box